It's Up To Me!
by Melissa Norvell
Summary: COMPLETE When Mario gets injured badly, it's up to Luigi to battle Bowser to free Princess Peach. Can he save her in time and deal with an injured brother? R&R! First Mario fic!
1. Luigi to the Rescue!

This is my first Mario fic, I had always loved this show and I am a huge fan of their video games. I've played all of them except for the ones for the Game Cube, because my parent's chose to get a PS2 instead. 

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This fic takes place after the Super Mario RPG, for those who have played it. It's a very fun game and my favorite Mario game, besides Mario Kart that is.

Well, I hope someone would read it and enjoy it. I hope it's not too bad, I don't like OOC and I just want to make sure I stay in character.

It's Up To Me!

Chapter 1: Luigi to the Rescue!

Bowser's castle stood against the dark clouds in the sky. It towered high, looking quite menacing sitting upon Vista Hill (SM RPG). Luigi and Toad stood upon the small dirt hill, gazing at the castle.

"Well, here we go again." Toad spoke.

"I know that my brother has already went ahead, but this time I have a bad feeling about him." Luigi's expression changed into one of worry.

Toad glanced up at Luigi, he had hoped that Luigi was wrong in his premonition. Usually, Mario could handle himself against Bowser. He had rescued members of the royal family so many times before. 

"Well, here we go." Luigi gulped as he and Toad slowly made their way across the bridge.

Toad gripped the rope on the sides, occasionally looking down at the lava below. 

**Oh man....** Toad thought to himself. ** I'd hate to fall in there. **

Luigi slowly inched his way up the bridge. He noticed that Toad was lagging behind. He turned his head to the small resident of Mushroom Kingdom who seemed to be still staring at a fate unwanted. 

Toad seemed to be entranced by the lava. He watched as it bubbled and brewed below him, and seemed to be caught in his own fears enough to remain still. 

Luigi gave his friend a sympathetic look. Toad stood there for a few minuets, completely still and not speaking.

A few minuets of silence passed. Toad snapped out of his shroud of fear and jumped a bit. He turned to Luigi as if to say "sorry" and plodded up the Mario brother, who waited patiently for him. 

The pair both walked up the rest of the bridge and finally made it to the doors. They gazed up and the huge doors that stood in their way. They both walked up and began to pull with all of their might. After a couple attempts they finally pulled the door open a bit. The crack in the door was big enough for Toad to fit through. Toad began to push on the inside of the door. After the door had come open a bit further, Luigi began to help his mushroom-headed friend. 

They finally managed to get the door open and snuck their way through. There were minions everywhere, so Toad and Luigi had to be prepared. Toad had no fighting powers and was much weaker than Luigi. 

Luigi was pretty much on his own. Many things ran through the plumber's head; thoughts of Mario and what may have, or did happen to him. Luigi could only think the worst for him. He knew he had to get to his brother fast.

It was so strange, they had never had problems facing Bowser before. What had happened? What had gone wrong? Perhaps he had been booby trapped, or ganged up on, but still Mario has had that happen to him before and managed to get away scratch free. 

Luigi knew he should have went with Mario that day. The flashback ran through his head of what happened to them.

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It was a bright and sunny day in Mushroom Kingdom. Mario had been called to the royal castle by the Chancellor. 

The Mario brothers were sitting on the couch, watching television and having a delicious lunch. Mario had left momentarily to answer the phone.

"Come on Luigi." Mario said as he reentered the room.

"What's wrong Mario?" Luigi said as he shot up off the couch.

"Bowser had just captured Princess Peach. I have to go and help her." Mario stated boldly.

"But brother, " Luigi said with a slightly worried expression and his arm resting on the corner of the sofa.

"No buts Luigi, I have to go." Mario said.

"Could I at least go with you?" Luigi asked. Something didn't seem quite right about the situation. 

"Luigi..." Mario trailed.

"I'm not saying you can't do this alone, it's just..." Luigi trailed.

"You can help me get to Bowser's castle, but I should go in by myself." Mario warned. He knew that Bowser was dangerous and he didn't want to put his brother in any danger.

"Luigi."

Silence.

"Luigi."

Silence.

"LU-I-GI!!"

"Huh?"

Luigi turned to Toad, who was being attacked by a Goomba. Luigi turned around in a whirl and fired a fire ball at the Goomba, knocking it away from the frightened Toad and sending it into a nearby wall.

"Thanks, Luigi. I owe you one." Toad said with a sigh of relief.

"Come on." Luigi said as he took off, "We've got to find Mario."

Luigi picked up his pace as he ran through the halls of the castle. He seemed very concerned for his brother's well being.

"Hey!" Toad called out, not seeming to care if he called all attention to himself. "Wait for me!"

Toad struggled to catch up to Luigi who was so far ahead of him. 

Luigi and Toad had advanced through Bowser's castle and there were only a few rooms left before they reached Bowser's throne room. Toad and Luigi ran into an abandon room and took a quick reprieve. They stood there, Luigi was hunched over and Toad sat on the cold stone ground panting lightly.

"Whew!" Toad wiped his face. "That was close. That Koopa almost got you."

"I'm pooped." Luigi huffed. "I've got to take a quick break."

"Here." Toad said, handing him a mushroom. "Eat this, it will give you a strength boost."

Luigi took the mushroom gratefully. Shortly after he had eaten the whole thing, he could feel his strength slowly returning.

"Ok," He finally told Toad. "Let's go!"

"Ok." Toad beamed.

Luigi and Toad raced on, heading into whatever lay in their path.

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What will happen next? Will Mario be found, and will he be all right?

Is this story good, crappie, should it continue or should I just stop because it's so ridiculous? Is it OOC? Whatever it is, could someone tell me? Please, please, please leave me a review. It's my first fic and I need opinions!!


	2. Mario is Hurt!

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Well, here is chapter 2. I must say I'm a bit disappointed at my lack of reviews. My other fics usually get so many T_T Oh well, guess I'll finish this fic and see what I get. 

Chapter 2: Mario's Hurt

As Luigi and Toad advanced through the castle and they got closer and closer to Bowser and Peach. They had walked down a long, driving hallway adorn with the miniature statues of Bowser. Each statue seemed to be an exact replica of the monstrous Koopa himself, they were very well done, right down to the exact detail.

They pushed open yet another set of doors. When they were open they saw Mario laying on the ground. He looked badly beaten up and he did not move. Only the worst could be thought for the plumber.

Luigi and Toad gasped in horror and ran over to the fallen plumber who lay sprawled on the floor. 

"Mario." Luigi said as he lifted up his brother's head. "What happened?"

"I was beaten in battle and I ran out of mushrooms." Mario told his brother.

Luigi looked at Toad who gave a sympathetic look. Luigi looked back at the mushroom headed civilian, his eyes burning with fierce determination.

"Don't worry. I'll make Bowser pay for what he's done, and I'll avenge your defeat and save Peach." Luigi promised.

He turned to Toad. 

"You stay here and protect Mario. Get him out of here and back to the Pipe House and gather as many mushrooms as you can. He'll need a lot to help his recovery.

Toad nodded. "I'll do my best and hope I don't run into any of Bowser's minions on the way out.

Luigi turned to go and Toad headed off with Mario to go back to the Pipe House. 

Luigi looked ahead to see the room that awaited him. He began to grow nervous and a small bead o sweat trickled slowly down his cheek.

"Well, here we go..." Luigi said in a shaky voice. He seemed a little uncertain about his own fate. He had never been in a battle with Bowser without his brother. He's hardly ever been without his brother, it was as if the two had been inseparable. Everything they did and every moment they spent was with each other.

Throughout the years they had participated in so many things, MarioKart, Golf, Tennis...But now.

Now.

He was alone.

There was no Mario to save the day, not now. Luigi had to do it himself, and he wasn't quite sure he could amount up to what his brother could.

Luigi took a few uncertain steps forward and walked up to the door. 

** I don't know if I can do this. ** He trembled. **I've never been without my brother to help me. How do I know I can defeat Bowser if he can't? ...Then again how do I know I can't. **

Luigi's face twisted in a courageous look as he pushed open the door. 

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as darkness nearly consumed him. The room was pitch black and looked uncertain. 

Luigi stood there, thinking about if he should enter the room or turn around and go back. It seemed to him that the means out numbered the odds. He did, in fact, promise to get Bowser for all of the horrible things he's done to Mario as well as the innocent citizens of Mushroom Kingdom and the other lands across Mario World.

He wished that Mario was there to help see him through. There was nothing he could do now but face his fears and just walk in.

Luigi took a few steps inside of the darkened room, and stopped a moment. He took a deep breath and continued to walk into the room. Luigi walked into the room, facing the darkness ahead and hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel of despair.

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Well, there's chapter 2, though I only got 2 reviews so far. Why isn't anyone reading this???


	3. Into the Darkness

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I finally updated. Due to my anime fics, this one has kind of been neglected. Sorry all. I'll try to update more often. I'm working on 9 fics right now and yeah....It's a lot of work.

Chapter 3: Into the Darkness

Luigi walked into the dark room.

"Momma meya. It'sa dark ina here." He said as he put a hand in front of his face, checking for the slightest hint of it, but there is none. 

Luigi walked a bit deeper into the darkness, not exactly sure where he was going, or how far he could walk before there was a wall of some other type of obstacle in his way. 

He could hear his breath echoed around the room and he could hear his footsteps as he walked. The room seemed long and drawing, almost as if it would never end. He brought his arms closer to his body for extra warmth as he shivered to himself and let out a misty breath into the black air.

All around the room, Luigi could hear haunting and eerie noises. Noises not made by human nor Koopa. They sent child down the plumber's spine. 

Luigi soon saw a small, dim light at the end of what seemed to be a long hall. The plumber slowly approached the light, unsure of what exactly would become of him at the end of the darkened room.

As he neared the room, every possible thought came to mind of what could possibly be in that next room. Luigi had to do this though, for his brother. Mario's sake depended on this. There was no way that Bowser could get away with what he's done. He may have defeated Mario briefly, but a brother's blood runs thicker then anything Bowser could send at him.

Luigi walked up to the doorway of the next room and gazed upon a large drab brown sack with something wriggling inside of it. He shrank back, unsure of what to do.

** If I open it, Koopas might jump out. It could be a trap, just like the one Mario fell into. I can't fall for it...** Luigi thought, still glaring at the bag of who knows what. 

The bag flopped over on the ground with a thud, and small groaning noises came from it. Luigi took a step back in surprise.

** What if it's not a trap though? What if it's someone who really needs help. It could be Peach even. ** Luigi soon became to think logic into this. ** Why would they just leave it out here all alone? If it was that important, why would it be left unguarded? **

The bag's efforts of flopping around the small space had grown less and less as Luigi's thoughts grew deeper and deeper.

**Well, trap or not, I have to see what's in there. It could be something useful. **

With that thought, Luigi went over to the bag and opened it. To his surprise it was something that could be a bit useful. 

A small green dinosaur head popped out of the bag. It was Yoshi. 

"Man, I thought I'd never get out of there." Yoshi replied, rubbing his head.

"Yoshi?" Luigi shrank back in question.

"Hi Luigi, what are you doing here?" Yoshi asked. "No offense but I was expecting Mario."

"How'd you get here?" Luigi asked.

"I don't remember. The last thing I know, I was walking around eating berries off of the bushes in Dinosaur Land, then everything went black and I was in this musty bag. By the way, where is Mario?"

"Something terrible happened.." Luigi trailed as Yoshi crawled his way out of the bag. The dinosaur went over to Luigi and listened to his story. 

Luigi began to explain to Yoshi about the sudden course of events. This was all a shock for the young dinosaur.

"That's bad!" He exclaimed. "We've got to help Mario!"

"That's what I'm trying to do, but I seem lost right now." Luigi told his reptilian friend. 

"We should work together, besides, if Mario would have done this on his own, I'd be trapped in this bag forever and who knows what would happen."

"Right." Luigi nodded in agreement. "Let's do this together."

"We may not be Mario, but I'm pretty sure we'll be an awesome team." Yoshi agreed. 

"For Mario's sake!" The both of them said in unison.

"One slight problem." Luigi said.

"What's that?"

"This is a dead end." Luigi pointed to the wall.

"We'll have to go back the way we came." 

"Hope on my back, I'll take you out of this." Yoshi offered his assistance. 

Luigi hopped on Yoshi's back and Yoshi soon began to travel down the room into the dark hallway.

"Watch your step Yoshi, " Luigi warned. "The room ahead is really dark, and it's impossible to see anything."

"Right," Yoshi agreed. "I'll just keep on track the best I can. I'll try to travel in a straight line, so if anything happens, it will just be because I trip on something.....Hopefully.."

Yoshi and Luigi soon disappeared into the darkness, on their way to fight Bowser. Luigi was glad that he had a team member on this. Yoshi would provide company and help whenever it was needed. They were one step closer to saving Peach, and making Mario proud.

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Thanks for the reviews!! I love you all! I'm glad your enjoying this fic of mine, considering it's a first. I have two more Mario fics on the way, one is about Toad, and the other is about Peach.

Please review now! I'll be forever grateful!


	4. Traps and Trechery!

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Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

I'm baaaack! Sorry about that, my computer was broken down for a while. Now I'm on an update tangent!! I'm updating like crazy!! This fic was one of those that needed it, badly -_-;

Well, enjoy!

It's Up to Me!

Chapter 4: Traps and Treachery!

Luigi and Yoshi rode deeper and deeper into the long, drawing cave, it seemed much longer then before this time. He was sure that he had not gone this far to get to the end of the cave.

"How much farther?" He asked his dinosaur friend.

"I could have sword it was much shorter the last time, or rather, it looked shorter." Yoshi said.

Luigi put one gloved hand over his eyebrows, to see if he could spot the end, but to no avail. All Luigi could see was darkness.

"See anything?" 

"No."

"Well, I'm getting kind of tired of walking so far." Yoshi explained.

Just as it seemed the Yoshi couldn't go any further, the two of them spotted an exit. It was dimly lit and seemed eerie against the pale, wet bricks of the exit.

They went through the opening and were quite surprised at what they had seen. 

"This isn't the way I entered through..." Luigi noted.

"You sure?" Yoshi asked, he wasn't able to see anything through being knocked out and bagged.

"Positive...How did we end up here?" He asked.

"Maybe I took a different way." Yoshi suggested.

"But we went straight ahead, with no turns..." Luigi answered. "How could that be?"

Yoshi looked around. "You think Bowser and the Koopalings could be behind this somehow?"

"Of course, isn't Bowser responsible for almost everything that goes on around here?" He asked.

"I can only think of a few times that Bowser wasn't actually responsible." Luigi noted, it was true, through all of their adventures, it had been mostly their arch enemy, Bowser, who they had been up against. He probably had his kids in on it as well.

Could this be another one of Bowser's plans?

"What is this place, some kind of illusion?" Luigi asked.

"Maybe, so. It could be like a giant warp pipe or something." Yoshi suggested.

"Whatever it is, we don't have a choice but to go ahead." Luigi said.

" Well, if we go back, then we'll probably be more confused, and become more lost."

"It's best that we stick together."

Yoshi and Luigi rode through the dimly lit room. It was hard to see the ground, and at moments, the ground didn't seem too stable. There were a couple of times that they could have easily fallen through. they thought they had made it across, when Yoshi stepped on a part of the ground and a loud crunching noise was heard.

The board beneath the both of them snapped.

With a scream, Yoshi and Luigi went plummeting into the darkness.

They yelled and screamed and their fall lasted quite a while. They finally hit the ground with a thud.

"Ouch." Yoshi said, laying flat on his back.

"Mmmmfpf grmmmpf." 

"Huh?" Yoshi sat up, not noticing the green and blue figure beneath him.

"Mmmmph **Off**!"

Yoshi looked around. "Luigi?"

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"Mmmmph!!"

"Oh!" Yoshi jumped up to see the younger plumber underneath him. 

"I'm really sorry Luigi! Are you all right?" the green dinosuar apologized.

"I'm fine. Let's go find Bowser."

"Right... but where are we now?"

"Who knows?"

Yoshi and Luigi decided to walk around some more. It was the only thing they could think of since they had no exact idea of where they were anyway. After a time of walking and ending up in several different rooms. They were beginning to get flustered with their failed attempts.

"I wish Mario were here." Luigi said. "He'd know what to do."

"We can't give up!" Yoshi said, his voice filled with confidence. " Mario needs us! We have to pull through somehow! We can't let him down!"

"Your right." Luigi seemed to perk up for a bit.

"But, what do we do?"

"I'm not sure."

"I know!" Luigi thought of an idea. "How about we put our heads together and see if we can come up with a solution."

"Let's think on this."

The two sat in contemplation. They were in a room under another room. They had to find a way to get to the top room.

"How about you jump up there." Yoshi said.

"How would you get up?" Luigi asked. 

"Good question...Maybe you could go find a blue shell and throw it down here for me to eat." Yoshi asked.

"What if there isn't any blue shells?"

"Egh..." Yoshi let out a sound of dismay. 

Luigi began to think yet again, trying to come up with a plan. 

"Hey, I see some kind of levers over there." Luigi said.

Yoshi and Luigi walked over to the levers and began to tug, toping one of them would work. They were a bit rusty and hard to open. No doubt Bowser had that in mind. 

The first lever didn't work, so they tried the second lever. That lever moved easier then the last. They pushed it up and the wall seemed to open up. They stared blankly at the opening.

"Should we run through?" Yoshi asked.

"Might be a trap." Luigi stated.

They could hear a rush of something. This sent the chills of the unknown up and down their spines.

"What was that?" Yoshi asked nervously.

"I..I don't know." Luigi stammered as he took a step back.

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"Gah!!" Both yelled in unison. **"WATER!!" **

They attempted to run, but they could not outrun that much water all at once. The two were swept away in the large current that poured from the large, opened space in the wall. They yelled and screamed as they were being swept down the castle halls, not knowing where they would end up and hoping it wasn't in the lava mote that surrounded Bowser's castle.

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Well, that's all from me for now. Hope no one's forgotten about me. ^^; Sorry about the lack of updates, my computer's been down lately. But now I'm up and back in action, and that's always good. Now do me a favor and make sure this story gets updated faster, R&R!!

R&R please!!


	5. Hurry Toad! Get Mario Back to the Castle...

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Hello all, I'm sorely lacking on updates for this little ficcy I have here. It's a shame, and so many people enjoy it. Thank you so much for all of the reviews, I'm forever grateful. Well, school's been eating up my time again, tests and such, hopefully over Christmas break, I can update more then I already am.

Well, read, review and enjoy!

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It's Up to Me!

Chapter 5: Hurry Toad! Get Mario Back to the Castle!

Toad ran as fast as he could, the injured Mario wearily laying over his shoulder. 

They had finally managed to get out of Bowser's Castle, now all they had to do was make their way back to Mushroom Kingdom safely and that was no simple task. The Koopa King had to have his evil minions trampling around all over the horizon, and Toad was to small and weak to fight, not like Mario had once been.

The mushroom headed boy had always been grateful and owed the plumber brothers a great deal, he never thought that once he would be the one saving Mario's life...

He ran for quite a while, his fear driving him to run faster then usual. As he climbed up a hill, he began to slow his pace. His little legs grew tired of the weight of his ally and going uphill.

Toad panted and stopped when he reached the peak. He sat Mario down, then took a seat on a large rock to catch his breath.

"**Whew!" **The mushroom-headed boy wiped a few sweat drops from his forehead. "I think I'm far enough away for now. Time for a rest. Too bad I don't have any mushrooms, I gave them all to Luigi before I left."

Toad glanced over to Mario, who appeared almost in a dead sleep. 

**I hope it's not too late, Mario. ** He thought to himself.

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The waterlogged Luigi slowly opened one eye. The blurs seemed to clear slowly and the plumber sat up, coughing the water from his lungs. He stood up, soaked to the bone, all around him, the floor had a thin layer of water on it.

It seemed as if the water all spilled out from somewhere in the room. 

The room was dark and eerie, filled with haunting noises; the blowing and howling of the wind, the creaking of old wood and the silent swirling of water. It sounded much like the rushing tides of the sea, but they're no where near the sea....Are they?

Luigi looked around, the top half of the room seemed to be engulfed in darkness, while the lower half was simply an old, wooden floor with nothing around for miles. The wood had been soggy and decayed in places, due to extensive water damage.

Luigi began to step cautiously around, searching for Yoshi. He and Yoshi had been washed into the same room, or so he thought. 

"**Yoshi!" **He called. **"Hey Yoshi!"**

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Toad had finally managed to make it to the steps of Mushroom Kingdom's castle and hurried inside with our injured hero.

The Chancellor was taking a snooze in his throne when Toad ran in.

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"Chancellor! Chancellor!" He shouted. **"This is urgent!"**

"Huh? Wha-Wha?!" The Chancellor fell from his throne and toppled onto the ground. the guards around him were snickering to themselves, trying not to laugh, but their faces soon turned dire when they had seen what Toad held over his shoulder.

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"Good gracious!" The Chancellor exclaimed, straightening his large, mushroom shaped hat.

"Mario is injured." Toad exclaimed, "He needs help!" 

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"Get him up to the quest room! Quickly!"

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Luigi kept walking until he tripped over something in his path. It was so dark that you couldn't tell what exactly was in your way.

"**Whaaaaa-!!" **The plumber fell.

"Momma Meeya, that'a hurt!" He rubbed his head, which had collided with the old wooden floor.

"Hey Luigi," Yoshi winced in pain. "Mind not falling over me next time? Dinosaurs have feelings too."

"Sorry Yoshi, I was trying to find out where we were." Luigi looked around the darkened room.

"Oh, it looks scary." Yoshi shrunk back.

The plumber was silent, looking around the vast abyss of darkness. Yoshi gazed around as well. They could faintly hear the sound of water sloshing and dripping around them. The floor creaked beneath their feet, almost as if they were on some type of old pirate ship or something. 

"Wherever we are, there's definitely water around." Yoshi stated the obvious.

"But that's the point, _where _are we?" Luigi asked, throwing out his hands in question. "It sounds like we're at the beach, but...We can't be...We're still in Bowser's Castle...Or at least I thought."

"Could be a trick." Yoshi warned. "Remember all of the other things Bowser did to us? The only time he even allied with you guys is when you were going to fight Smithy."

"That's true, and it was reluctantly at that." Luigi replied.

The two of them walked along the old, damp, creaking floor. Suddenly, there was a jolt in the floor, knocking the two off of their feet. They fell with a thud after flying back from the sudden jolt, Yoshi fell on his side, and Luigi on his posterior. 

The boards of the floor came flying upwards, shooting in every direction and making noises of destruction. The plumber and the dinosaur could only stare in awe at what they saw before them.

A giant sea snake, that was a deep shade of blue. She had long fins and horns on each side of her head. Her body must have been longer then any ship by far, and she had her sights set on Luigi and Yoshi. The two looked around as the room began to slowly light itself. The snake's features slowly showing. The snake had fins of light blue and razor sharp teeth, almost like that of a shark. Blue eyes and an eel-like appearance. This was no ordinary water snake, this was a sea serpent. 

"This is a trick!" Luigi shouted. "Bowser laid another trap for us!"

"Oh, I knew it." Yoshi pouted. "This just isn't any of our days, is it?"

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Yeah, I know, I know, not much and I left off at a cliffie. I'm so mean, but I'm also so behind. I need to get in gear and write some more. Well, since I finally updated, look for more updates from me later on. The next chapter will reveal Luigi and the Sea Snake, and probably catch up on Mario's recovery and Peach will hopefully make the scene as well.

Well, you know what to do, R&R!!


	6. Worries

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I'm here to bring more chapters. Actually, I've been gone for quite a while and I'm making up excuses. I could make up all of the excuses in the world, but no one wants to hear them.

I was working on a fic for a contest, and I won one of the categories in that contest. Hooray for me.

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It's Up To Me!

Chapter 6: Worries

"Greetings, my name is Minerva. I am the Sea Serpent of the deep." The Serpent greeted the two in a rather, cat-like voice. 

"Minerva?" Luigi questioned.

"Seems scary...." Yoshi gulped in fear. 

"You think she'd just let us pass?" Luigi turned and questioned his little green friend, who stood next to him, quaking in fear at the sight of the monstrosity in front of them.

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Back in Mushroom Village, Toad was sitting quietly at Mario's bedside. He was gently rubbing a wet rag over his bristly features. 

** I hope he'll be all right. ** Toad thought to himself, looking out of the window at the horizon, which was sunny and bright due to the atmosphere of the situation.

Mario stirred a bit, and rolled over to one side.

Toad glanced at the tired plumber.

** I wonder how Yoshi and Luigi are doing. They have to face Bowser's minions all on their own and Mario can't help. I just hope they can pull through. Luigi's never been on a solo mission before. He's always been with Mario so they could cover each other in battle. **

It was true, the brothers have never been separated for long. And now, for the first time in a long while, they were torn apart by a twist of fate.

Mario was counting on Luigi to fulfill the task at hand.

He just hoped that he could.

** Poor Mario. ** Toad thought to himself.

He already had the guard go into the town and fetch a much needed mushroom. Actually, given the plumber's condition, he needs more.

Much more...

** Well...** Toad put a finger to his lips in contemplation.

** You know...Luigi wasn't completely alone. He had Yoshi. Yoshi usually goes on missions with Mario and the two of them come out on the top. So, maybe Yoshi could help Luigi somehow. **

The little mushroom-headed boy let out a sigh as he flopped his arms down on the window sill of Mushroom Castle, looking into the sunlight.

** How can things be so sunny out there, when everything's so gloomy in here? ** He thought despairingly to himself. ** I just hope Luigi and Yoshi make it in time. **

"I wonder how Peach is doing, all alone with that blasted Koopa." Toad thought to himself. 

He balled up his fists even thinking of the dreaded Koopa King and his children.

** It's not fair. this is all his fault! ** Toad thought angrily to himself. ** We can't ever live in peace because of him!**

Toad slammed his fist on the wooden window sill, making a small knock which caused Mario to roll over in bed.

The mushroom headed boy looked over his shoulder. He had almost forgotten Mario was trying to sleep.

** I should be more careful of what I'm doing, or I'll wake up Mario. **

" I can't wait until Peach is back and everything's peaceful again." Toad sighed to himself.

"Come on Luigi, pull through for us. It's not that I don't have faith in you...It's just that you've never had to do this type of thing on your own and I worry for your safety. " Toad thought aloud. "You are my friend, no matter what, and I don't know what I, or anyone else would do if you died."

The mushroom headed boy shook his head, ridding his mind of any negative thoughts.

"Of course you won't die. What am I talking about?!" Toad cursed darkly to himself. "How could I have said such a thing!? Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

** Of course I believe in you, Luigi! ** Toad looked up determined not to let his negativity get the best of him. ** Someone has to have faith, and when there's a will, there's a way! **

"I'm counting on you...Luigi. We're all counting on you!" 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

Wow, it has been an ultra long time since I've updated. Sorry about that. I've been so busy with my school , and tests and pets and home and....Well, you get the picture. ^^;

Hopefully I'll have more time to update in the future, since school is about to be out and such.

I hope I haven't lost any reviewers and sorry about the chapter length. 

I promise a longer chapter next time.

Oh yeah, and I'll put some of Peaches' thoughts in as well.

Anyway, sorry again and please R&R and tell me what you think. Even if it is a "Good job," or "Great story" I still want to know. Reviews are very precious to me and I really love hearing from you, so please take the time to review!!

Well, bye for now, but now forever!

I'll be back!! 

****


	7. Trapped!

**Ok, here I go with a little of Peaches' P.O.V. for a little character insight. Sorry for not updating, I've had writer's block and my computer broke and…. No one really wants to hear my excuses anyway. Well, I'm back and I'm updating, though I don't know when my next update will be.**

**Anyway, please take the time to leave me a kind review. I know this fanfic doesn't have a lot of reviews like my others do, but I'm still working on it!**

****

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 7: Trapped!**

****

**Bowser sat upon his mighty throne aligned with spikes and bones. His plan was going according to plan, with Mario out of the way, and Luigi and Yoshi coming to their demise, there was no way this could have a flaw, right?**

**Peach sat in her desolate cell; the walls were unappealing and cold. They were build from large gray stones, and it smelled musty and old in the cell. She felt as if she'd been down there for what seemed months, but it was only days.**

**She had no windows, or even a hole in the wall to see the outside world, though she didn't like the sight of lava, she found it to be more appealing then the cold, hard, stone walls of the cell.**

**I wonder what's taking Mario so long. She thought to herself. He should have been here by now. Has Bowser actually come up with a plan that proved fool proof? **

**A terrible premonition indeed.**** It was once that Peach tried to rid quickly.**

**That can't be! She thought in a fright. Mario can't be gone, he just can't! He's Mario! I mean, we've had so many run ins with dangerous things in the past, not only with Bowser, but with people like Booster, Bowyer and Smithy, as well as the Axem Rangers. All throughout those adventures, Mario always came out on top. I have to believe in him! **

**She looked defiant.**

**They say if you lose faith in someone, they lose faith in themselves, so I still have faith in you, Mario. I believe in you. **

**Peach looked up to the corner of the cell, which was harboring a large spider web.**

**Come to think of it, when we fought Smithy, wasn't Bowser fighting with us? Of course he was…Only to get his castle back. What a first class jerk!...But then again, he acted so differently, as if there was some way we could all get along. Mario seemed to soften him up. He has that effect on people, I guess. **

**The blonde suddenly snapped back into a realization. Wait a minuet! Did I just think Bowser could change?! Of course not! ****NO WAY****!! I mean, as soon as the whole Smithy incident was over, he was back to his old tricks! **

**She looked down. Look what he's done! Gone and made me think higher of him. **

**She pouted to herself as she slumped into the corner of the cell.**

**"I wonder how long I've been in here." She asked herself, trying to rid her head of the whole 'Bowser could be a good guy' theory. The princess let out a sigh and wondered how everyone was doing. She had hoped that ****Mushroom****Kingdom**** was safe and that there weren't any signs of an appending apocalypse.**

**She held both fear and hopes for her friends and had often wondered about their state of being.**

**Peach cared not only for her people, but for her friends well, especially Mario and Luigi.**

**If only she could tell them of Bowser's plans!**

**But she couldn't even escape from her cell to tell them, and if she came home, what would she find?**

**She didn't know where either Mario or Luigi were, so she'd be searching on estimated guesses.**

**Guess all she _could_ do was wait.**

****

**From the dark confines of the cell, something had been watching her with glimmering eyes. During the Princess's contemplations, she had failed to notice that she was, indeed, being watched. The small being, who hid in the dark corner of the room had eyes set intently on our Princess.**

**Slowly, but surely, as the Princess thought and sat n despair, the tiny form made it's way slowly over to the Princess. Whoever they were, they were making sure as to not step the wrong way.**

**Peach didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching her from the opposite end of the dark, dank cell.**

**She had her back turned, her knees up and her hand behind her on the ground to stable herself as she leaned back upon them, seeming to stare sorrowfully at the wall, as if she stared at it long enough, she would be able to see right through it to the outside world.**

**The diminutive figure was creeping closer and closer.**

**"I wish I could get out of here and be free!" Peach thought aloud. "I don't want to be stuck in here. I'd rather be in ****Mushroom****Kingdom****, I'd rather be happy."**

**The small figure stopped a few footsteps from its destination. Something about the young blonde's words seemed to trigger hidden feelings inside of the shadowy being. **

**Something deep and sacred…**

**A shadow of its head could be seen slowly drifting its sights to the floor in quite a sorrowful manner. It couldn't help but feel a deep set sorrow. **

**Were they a prisoner too?**

**Just as Peach was. . .**

**But who was it?**

**What did they want?**

**What were they going to do with Peach?**

**The small figure sat quietly beside of Peach, who seemed to feel no presence of a form near her. After all, she did figure that she was all alone. Bowser's only prisoner…**

**The Princess sighed and felt tears well in her eyes as all of her thoughts came to the conclusion that she was helpless, alone and could not help anyone. She was even completely aware of what was happening to her friends.**

**After a short while, she felt a crystalline tear trail down her cheek.**

**In the midst of the tears trail, she felt a hand wipe it away.**

**Eyes widening at who it might be, the princes whirled around and let out a gasp at who she saw.**

****

****

****

****

**I know, I know, it was a mean thing to do, so sue me! But you'll find out who it is in the next chapter, and also more of the fight that Luigi and Yoshi are having at the moment. I didn't forget! My PC was broken and I had writer's block, but now I'm back to stay and I'll be updating freqently!**

**Please R&R, no matter if it just says one word, they all matter to me, so please please take the time to review! It means a lot to me!**

****


	8. Let Me Help You!

**Well, here I am with chapter 8 for all of you Mario fans.  Now the important question will be answered.  Who exactly is in the cell with Peach, well, wouldn't you like to know. **

**Anyway, since I'm on an updating spree, you'll find out soon enough!**

****

**Chapter 8: You Are Not Alone!**

****

**Peach turned and gasped at the sight before her.  There stood a Koopa!**

**The tiny shelled being winced back, as if he were being struck and the blonde let out a scream.**

**"DON'T TOUCH ME!"**

**The tiny Koopa ran back into the darkness, leaving the princess subject to the darkness around her.**

**She sat there, backed against the wall, wide-eyed, and holding her chest with her hand.  The girl breathed heavily, frightened to find something that was her enemy in a cell with her.**

**After a few minuets, the blonde heir to the throne thought about what had just happened.**

** What a second… She thought to herself, bringing a finger up to her lips.  What was one of Bowser's Koopas doing in a cell with her instead of performing its deeds for it's king? **

**The princess blinked a few times, trying to conjure up more thoughts.**

****

**Meanwhile, Yoshi and Luigi were having troubles of the own.  The mighty serpent brought her massive head down to bite the two, and using his Super Jump technique, Luigi was able to escape the massive head of the serpent, carrying Yoshi with him.**

**"Momma- Meeya thata was close!" Luigi huffed in mid air, carrying his green friend who was hiding his eyes.**

**Yoshi slowly uncovered his eyes, as if to say, "I'm alive?" and looked around.  **

**"Huh?"  The young dino looked down and saw that Luigi had indeed saved him.**

**"Thanks Luigi!  That was a close one!"**

**"We're not out of danger yet!" Luigi remarked.**

**Peach stood up in her dark, dank cell.  **

**"Hey!" She called out to the diminutive figure.**

**"Y-yes?"**** The figure replied with a shake to its voice, as if it were being scolded.**

** Why is it afraid of me? She asked herself in her mind and blinked two more times, a bit confused by the being's actions.**

**"Why are you in here?" The princess asked, inching her way over to the figure with curiosity.**

**"Please don't hurt me!  I just wanted to help you!" The Koopa protested.**

**Peach put her hands up to her shoulders.  " I'm not going to hurt you!  I promise!"**

**"You're not….?"**

**"No."**

**The being, which was covering him, as if he were going to get beaten, slowly began to put his arms down. **

**"I just want to know what you're doing here….And…why you wiped away my tears when I was crying…"  Peach retorted slowly.**

**"I …" The Koopa trailed.  "I was locked in here by Bowser.  I went against his orders, so he locked me in here.  I was never much of a bad guy, and I never succeeded any of my missions.  I didn't want to do what I was doing, but I don't have much of a choice.  He IS my King."**

**"If he was a good king, he'd respect you as a subject, not lock you in a cell because you were doing something you didn't want to do!" Peach replied.**

**"True…I thought I was alone in here, until I saw you.  I've been in here for years, and it was lonely.  Most of the other prisoners never lasted long, but I hid when they came back to take prisoners away." The Koopa looked down sadly.**

**Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.  "It's ok; I'll help you get out of here!"**

**"Really?"******

**"You can come back with me, to ****Mushroom****Kingdom****."  The princess beamed.**

**"But I couldn't!  They hate people like me there!"**

**"Not if I told them that you helped save me." She insisted.**

**"Don't you think I'd be better off in ****Koopa****Troopa****Beach**** or somewhere like that?" **

**"I suppose, it really doesn't matter.  As long as we get out of here, right?"  Peach beamed.**

**The small Koopa nodded.**

**Peach extended her hand to the little one, who shook it lightly.  **

**"From now on, we're a team!"**

**"Right, happy to team up with you, my Princess."****  The small Koopa beamed.**

**Peach looked confused.  "Your…Princess?"**

**"Yes, if I'm going to get out from under Bowser's rule, I'm going to have to look up to some other royal official.  What better person then you?"**

**Peach blushed.  "I don't really deserve it.  If I would have been more careful, I wouldn't be in here."**

**"I could say the same for me, princess." The Koopa replied.**

**"Oh!" Peach threw her hands up to the sides of her face.  "I forgot to ask what your name was!  Forgive my rudeness!"**

**"My name is Jurachi.  I should have told you earlier." The Koopa said as he scratched the back of his head nervously.**

**"Nice to meet you, Jurachi."**** Peach replied happily.**

**"Well, now that we know each other." Peach continued.  "Let's team up and find a way out of this pit!"**

**"Right, my princess."**** Jurachi half bowed courteously.**

**The alliance between peach and Jurachi had been formed.  The Koopa was determined to help his newly found princess to escape the rule to the tyrant, Bowser and to find peach elsewhere, where Koopas could live in peace.**

****

**Luigi and Yoshi were still having trouble fighting the large serpent.  She had seemed to be giving them quite a run for their money, as well as a run for their life!**

****

**"Well, first things first."**** Peach said to herself.**

**"Yes?"**

**"How do we get out of here?" She threw her arms out to her sides.**

**"Of course."**** The Koopa thought long and hard on this one.  "You know, I think I may have a way that both of us can escape unharmed, but we'll have to be very precise at what we do.  We can't have one error."**

**"I'm listening." Peach knelt down to his level.**

**Jurachi**** began to go into his intricate plan, making sure no one was listening in and also keeping quiet in speech.**

****

**Here's the end of that chapter.  Please leave a kind review.  I'm surprised at my reviews as well.  Thanks all for your great reading!  I might writer another Mario fic, if I feel like it after writing this one.**

**I need to do some updating, that's for sure.  I'm going to see what I can do with a few Inuyasha fics and such.  Anyway, please review even if it's one word.  I really love getting and reading your thoughts on my works!**


	9. The Strength of Bonds

**Hello, I'm back with another chapter.  I'd like to state this first.  I didn't not get the name Jurachi from pokemon, it actually is a Japanese name for a male.  I dislike pokemon and haven't watched the show at any given time.**

**Now that that's settled, on with the new chapter.******

**Oh, and on a side note, if you don't like it, then don't read it.**

**I think this fanfic has been doing quite well for it's type, since I've looked around at the Mario fics here, I've seen few that rival it in reviews at least, so I know I've been doing something right.  I might even make another one, when I can tone down my fanfictions as it is.  I have 8 fanfictions going at one time, this is the next to last one I update, considering it has so few reviews next to my other fanfics.**

**Here are a list of my fanfics and series and how many reviews they have:**

**Inuyasha**

**Raiden no Ai- 28 chapters- 1244 reviews**

**Hidden Affections- 15 chapters- 382 reviews**

**When I'm Apart From You- 7 chapters- 143 reviews**

**No Thanks, Jakotsu! – 7 chapters- 133 reviews**

**Yu-Gi-Oh**

**Puppy Love-9 chapters- 197reviews**

**Crush- 7 chapters- 106 reviews**

**Sailor Moon**

**Forgotten Promise- 6 chapters- 94 reviews**

**Now, time for the fanfic!!**

**………**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 9: Strength of Bonds**

**………**

Minerva lay on the ground, motionless.  Luigi and Yoshi were both exhausted from their battle and decided to take a rest to recover their energy. 

"Whew!  That was a close one!"  Yoshi panted.

"No joke.  Minerva is one tough sea snake." Luigi sat against an old wooden wall and wiped a bit of sweat from his temples.  "I wonder what she was doing working with Bowser?"

"Maybe she wasn't even working for Bowser, perhaps she was just protecting her territory." The young dinosaur suggested.

"Whatever reason it was, she can't mess with us now."

"I'm just glad that fight was over."

"Me too."

They both sat in silence, and all that could be heard was the light panting and a hollow noise of the winds from outside.

"So.." Luigi finally said after a few moments of silence.

"So?" Yoshi asked, looking at his tired friend.

"Where do we go from here?" Luigi asked.

"We can't even see all that well." Yoshi narrowed his eyes, trying to see in the dark chasm, but to no avail, all that could be seen was pitch black darkness.

"I'd hate to see what all was in here if we turned on the lights."

"M-maybe, I d-don't want to know." Yoshi shook with fear at the thought of any impending danger that may be lurking nearby.

"This wood is so soggy and rotted; we'll have to watch our step!" Luigi advised, noting that they were up to their ankles n water, and the wood had kept them high and dry until now.

"I wonder if Peach is ok." Yoshi said absentmindedly.

"I don't know Yoshi." Luigi sighed, putting his hands to either side of his face. "Wherever she is, I hope that she can avoid Bowser long enough for us to come and save her."

"Hey Luigi."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we can save Peach?" Yoshi inquired, a look of worry etched onto his features.

"What do you mean?" Luigi turned his head to look at the small green one.

"I mean, we've never done this without Mario before…" He trailed off.

"Don't worry Yoshi." Luigi smiled.  "I'm sure that wherever Mario is, he's rooting for us!  All of Mushroom Kingdom is as well, not to mention Peach.  We have to do this, for our friends!"

Yoshi nodded at his friend's inspirational speech.  "We can't let him down! Especially when he's been there for us!"

"Right! That's the spirit, Yoshi!"

"But I'm still scared…"

Luigi kept from anime falling at the comment.

"Well, I never said you had to be brave…I suppose…" Luigi rubbed the back of his head as a small bead of sweat trickled down his cheek.

The place fell silent, except for the crackling of  the wood beneath them, and the faint sound of the tides of the water.

Minerva still lay there, in her death-like sleep.

&&&&&&&

Back at Mushroom Kingdom, Toad waited patiently by Mario's bedside, pondering to himself.

'I hope Mario can pull through.' He thought to himself.  'I wonder if Luigi and Yoshi are all right?'

The small being looked up at something that was very interesting…the ceiling.

He almost jumped out of his shoes when he heard the door open.

**"Ahhhhhhhhhh-" He** covered his mouth, as to not wake up the slumbering plumber.

"Shhhhh!" The Chancellor put a finger over his lips to try and hush Toad.  "It's just me, the Chancellor."

"Oh, whew!" Toad wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.  "Don't do that to me!  You nearly made me jump through the ceiling!"

"Sorry." The Chancellor sweat dropped. "My apologies.  I just came to check on Mario.  How is he doing?"

"Resting peacefully as of now."

"I see."  The Chancellor turned. "That's all I wanted, I'll get back to the throne room and see what else needs tending to."

Toad nodded in response.

The room fell silent.

****

**_(Toad- There's too much silence in this fanfic.)_**

****

**_(Me- I know intense, ne?)_**

****

After a while of silence and little movement, Toad went back to sitting at Mario's bedside, and trying to quell his now fast beating heart.

' He nearly scared the spores right out of me!' He thought.  ' Oh well…'

The small one sighed and looked at the sleeping plumber, who turned towards him and let out a sigh of his own.

'Get well soon, Mario.'

Toad gave a small smile at the slumbering plumber, as if he knew that in the end, despite Luigi and Yoshi's predicament, that everything would be all right and Peach would soon return to Mushroom Kingdom.

'I know you can, Mario.  Don't let us down.'

Toad looked up once more.

'You either, Luigi.  Defeat Bowser and bring Peach back to us!'

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Well, that's all for this chapter!  Nice to see that people like it.  Please review!  In the next chapter, Peach and Jurachi's plan will be put into motion.**

**For the final time, Jurachi is not a pokemon name, it's a male Japanese name.  I've never watched, nor been interested in Pokemon, I've also never heard Jurachi used in the pokemon series, maybe it's some new pokemon or something, but the name was clearly Japanese from my point of view, nothing pokemon-related of the matter.  Whether you believe me or not is of your own accord, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing, take that how you will.**

**I'm not getting angry, none of you are worth it anyway.  I don't even know you.**

**On the lighter side, please review!**


	10. Disguise

**Well, hello yet again.  I'm here and it's time for a new chapter of my Mario fic.  Sorry for the long update periods, I'm a very very busy person.  Anyway, I feel very special having over 100 reviews from this fanfic.  I didn't think this fic would bring that many reviews.**

**Please, don't hesitate to say something in a review.  I really appreciate all of the reviews.  I feel a sense of being special   I never knew this would attract so many people.  So, thank you for all of your reviews.**

**Now, looking at the list of fanfics:**

**These are in order of reviews, so let's see where this one falls in.**

**Raiden no Ai- 1247**

**Hidden Affection- 382**

**Taming of the Wolf- 260**

**Puppy Love- 229**

**Runaway- 160**

**Otogi's**** Dark Angel- 175**

**Disturbing Images- 169**

**When I'm Apart From You- 145**

**No thanks, Jakotsu!- 135**

**It's Up To Me!- 109**

**Crush- 106**

**Now out of the fics I update, here is where it falls in:**

**Raiden no Ai- 1247**

**Hidden Affection- 382**

**Puppy Love-229**

**When I'm Apart From You- 145**

**No Thanks, Jakotsu- 135**

**It's Up To Me!- 109**

**Crush-106**

**Forgotten Promise- 94**

**Third from last, that's always good I suppose.  Well, this chapter is probably going to be short as usual, but there is a lot in store.  So please, review and enjoy!**

****

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 10:  Disguise**

****

Peach and Jurachi waited for Bowser's guards to open the door and give them something that was supposed to resemble food.  Finally, after much patience and wait, the guards came to feed them, the two prisoners each took their respective spots behind the door, awaiting with hard, long objects to knock them out with.  The guards opened the door, slowly and steadily, Peach tried to keep from wincing in pain as the door pushed her body into the wall. 

After a few minuets of being sandwiched in between the wall and door, Peach and Jurachi jumped out and hit the objects hard against the guards' heads, knocking them out cold.

"Great job, Princess!" Jurachi told the blonde. 

Peach looked at the guards laying on the floor with sleeping expressions.   She held her chest with one hand. 

"Thanks."

"Right, now time for phase two."

"Phase..two?" The princess asked; seeming confused.

"We'll take off their clothes, and disguise ourselves as guards.  After that, we'll use the excuse that we've been sent on out on scout by Bowser.  After that, we should be able to get out with no problem."  Jurachi explained.

"Sounds great!" Peach nodded.  "All we have to do is get past the gates and off of Vista Hill."

"Let's go!" 

The princess and the Koopa quickly dressed themselves as the two knocked out guards.  They then tied the guards up and gagged them with some rope they'd found and used their "dinner" to promptly shove in their mouths.  After doing this, they proceeded to head out of the door, locking it behind them and making sure to keep the key, incase they did get caught and had to go back to their respective cell.

Peach decided to hide the key in her brooch, the guards would never expect to look there. 

They both headed down the halls and seemed to be advancing well.  No one had spotted them as of yet and the two seemed to be moving along with no complications.   The halls seemed clear that day.  They both had guessed that Bowser sent his minions out to wreak more havoc upon unsuspecting people.

' **_I_****_ hope that Toad and Mario are all right.  I wonder what Luigi and Yoshi are doing as well.  Are they trying to save me?  Why haven't they yet?  I hope Mario didn't get injured…But that's not like him!  He's always pulled through for us before..' _**Peach thought to herself.  She then looked at Jurachi, who was walking beside of her.

**_'Why is he helping me anyway?  I mean…He's a Koopa ..One of Bowser's minions…I'm still feeling a bit skeptical…"  _**Peach put a finger to her lips.

"Something wrong?" Jurachi would have arched an eyebrow if he could have.

"Oh!" Peach put a hand to her chest.  "No, nothing at all."

The blonde princess could feel sweat roll down the back of her head.    The small Koopa just gave her a quizzical look.

They advanced a while, still being unnoticed.  Then, after a long time of just walking and being very cautious of which, they came across some guards.  Both of them froze.  

"Um…" Peach retorted under her breath.

"Don't worry, just act normal." Jurachi whispered.  

Peach gave a silent nod.

They continued to walk casually by the guards.  

One of the guards sends them a look out of their preverbal vision, which sent shivers up and down their spines.  

"Hey you two!" One of the guards turned to them.

' Do they mean us?!' Jurachi thought as he felt his body stiffen up.

' Oh no!' Peach thought as well, her own body stiffening up.

"I'm talking to you. " The guard yelled in their direction.

Peach and Jurachi pointed to themselves in unison, both afraid of what the outcome might be.  

"**HEY**!"

Both of them flinched, fearing for the worst. 

Then….

A voice from behind edged closer, apologizing furiously for their late arrival. 

"Sorry!  I was caught up in something!" Another guard ran up in a hurry and out of breath.

"Bowser wishes to see you, and you're in promptness is making his impatience grow." 

"Right!"  The guard ran hurriedly into the throne room.

' I was almost a gonner!' Jurachi thought to himself, trying not to be obvious while wiping the tiny sweat beads that had formed off of his head.

'That was close.  .  . But I'm not out of the clear yet…' Peach thought to herself. 

They both walked away from the guards, happy that they hadn't been figured out yet, but what as on the horizon?

****

**Well, that's the end of this chapter.  Will Peach and Jurachi walk away free?  Or will Bowser and his evil minions get a hold of them?  If they do, what will happen?  And what of Yoshi and Luigi?  Will they be able to make it in time to save Jurachi and Peach from Bowser?**

**Stay tuned and leave reviews!  Thanks for the over 100 reviews!  You fans are great!  I hope someone can give me some ideas; I've got a case of writer's block here.  Please leave a review and tell me what you think!  **


	11. A Foiled Plan

**Well, here is chapter 11 of It's Up To Me! Sorry for the lack of updates, I wanted to finish three fanfics that only had from 2-4 chapters left to them. This fanfic has moved up once again. I've lowered my current projects from 8 to 6 fanfics. This fanfic is now the 3rd fic that I update! Sorry for the lack of updating chapters, but I'm finished with two other fanfics, so now I have more time for this fanfic.**

**Well, without further a due, here is chapter 11 of my Mario fanfic, It's Up To Me! **

**I'm thinking this fanfic will end in about 20 or so chapters, but I'm not sure as of yet.**

**Anyway, please read, review and enjoy!**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 11: A Foiled Plan**

Peach and Jurachi walked down the narrow paths of Bowser's huge, musty castle in hopes of escaping.

"We can't afford another blunder like that." Jurachi told Peach.

"Yeah." The princess sighed. "We were almost gonners there. "

The two traveled down the dank hallways, and they were just about to reach the main gate when they were stopped.

Two guards were eyeing them suspiciously, which gave the two instant chills.

'_I'm not so sure that I like this feeling.' _Peach thought to herself as they slowly and casually made their way past them, to hide their nervousness beneath the costumes.

As soon as they thought they were out of the clear, the guards started talking amongst themselves.

" Hey, have you seen those guards before?" One of them questioned to the other two.

"No, I haven't." The second one said.

"Something's not right about this…" The third one responded.

……………..

On the other side of the castle, the two guards who were jumped and put into the cell were sitting there, tied from head to toe with rope and gagged with a couple of Peach's hand handkerchiefs. They sat there, squirming on the floor.

After what seemed like many, many hours. A couple more guards came to check on the prisoners, but instead opened the door to reveal the two previous guards.

"What's going on?" One of them asked, their face lit up with surprise.

"Mmmmmfph grummmpf!" Were the two muffled replies.

"Eh?" The second guard cleaned his ear with his finger. "What kinda made up language are you talkin' in?"

**"MMMMMMMMFPGH GRRRRRRRRR UUUMMPFH!"******

"I can't understand what you're saying with that thing tied around your mouth." The taller of the two guards walked over and removed the handkerchief from tone of the guards' mouths.

**"YOU IDIOT!**** THEY GOT AWAY!" **

"How?"

"They stole our clothes and knocked us out, after that they threw us in here." The second tied up guard replied. "Who knows where they are in the castle. Lord Bowser will be angry!"

"Let's go!" The two standing guards, who weren't thinking about the ones on the ground, ran off in a hurry.

As they were leaving, they heard the other's shout back at them.

**"HEY! YOU IDIOTS!"**

**"WAIT! HEEEEY!"**

The two guards ran down the halls of the castle shouting the word "intruders" at the top of their lungs. The other guards responded in the same fashion and some gave chase down the halls to search for the said intruders. Peach and Jurachi were making their way out of the hall and finally managed to reach the outside gate. They both got wide eyed at the fact that their freedom lay just beyond those doors, but it seemed that as soon as the two were able to reach it, they both heard the sound of multiple voices shouting about intruders.

"Oh no!" Peach gasped.

"Let's just hurry and try to get out!" Jurachi told her as they ran over to the doors to try and push the huge wooden things open.

Before they knew what hit them, they were being drug back to the cell they were in.

**"And stay in there!"**

They were thrown against the wall, Jurachi popping back into his shell to protest him from the hard contact with the wall. He made sure to get behind Peach to save her from the contact of the wall, and instead of hurting herself, she collided with the smooth surface of his green shell.

"Ouch…" The princess moaned.

Jurachi popped out of his shell, laying on the floor, propping his head up with one arm.

"Sorry, princess…" He said woefully.

"And it was such a good plan too…" Peach sighed.

"Guess we'll never get out of here now…" Jurachi sighed.

"We can't give up hope!" Peach stood.

"But we're **_never _**going to get out of here. We're out matched and out numbered." Jurachi replied.

"I guess we'll have to think of something else."

Peach sat atop of Jurachi's shell and the two began to think of any possibilities for new plans.

…………………

A few feet away, emerging from the dark shadows…

**_"ACHOO!"_**

****

The noise echoed throughout the hollow room.

"Yoshi."

"What?" Yoshi sniffled. "Sorry, the musty smell was getting to me."

"We need to stay quiet or we'll get caught. "Luigi replied. "They already are out on the watch for those intruders."

"You think they know it's us?"

"I'm not sure." Luigi replied. "But let's be careful and take extra precautions."

"Right."

**Well, that's the end of that chapter. Sorry, like I said, I'm trying to finish other fanfics before I go and work on these types of fics anymore. Anyway, as I have said many times before, make sure to R&R and tell me what you think. It's good to have input from the fans on these types of stories. I have a minor case of the writer's block, but there will be a new chapter soon, don't forget to review and stay cool until another chapter is released.**

**I know this isn't very long, and sorry for that, but I've got a lot to do and there might be a better and longer chapter coming along in the future.**

**R&R!**


	12. As Time Flies By

**Here is chapter 12! Man this fic is getting long, isn't it? I'm going to end it pretty soon, as I am running out of things to make happen. If anyone has any ideas out there, tell me! Other then that, I'm going to skip all of the bleh and get straight to the Bowser fight.**

**Anyway, sorry for not being fateful on generating chapters for this story, but then again, I've been extremely busy and I can only write if I get a good idea. Anyway, feel free to leave a review, and thanks to all of those who do.**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 12: As Time Flies By . . .**

Many weeks seemed to fly by as Luigi and Yoshi went on to battle Bowser's evil minions and to also face many perilous adventures together. Both of them never giving up hope and constantly aware of the dangers breathing down their throats. Both of them never gave up hope and continued to move through their missions with little difficulty. There were some that were harder then others.

There were several evil foes and minions standing in their way, but still the two manage to pull through, just the two of them against what seemed like the world.

Peach and Jurachi were still locked in the castle, but tried every day to find ways to escape, both growing closer and closer as friends, and Peach, of course, getting used to having an enemy as her best friend.

When they got caught, they would often sit in the cell they had come to call a temporary home and talk about their past days, each sharing a past history with one another.

They would both laugh about their blunders and be amazed by their triumphs. The two would also fear in the suspense and feel bad in the hard times. It seemed that no matter how bad Peach was feeling, Jurachi was there to make her happy. He also wished the best for Mario and hoped that he'd get better.

If the plumber was willing to listen, he would tell him his story, no matter how menacing and suspicious he seemed, and Peach obliged to help him with it. She too, wanted to convince Mario that Jurachi was one of the good guys.

Luigi and Yoshi continued to battle against foes and gain both experience and power, each of them becoming stronger and increasing in everything they've done. They fought long and hard for many many days against the evil minions of Bowser.

They both thought they were getting close to Bowser, but they still had one problem…

How to get into the castle?

This was unsettling to the two. They both had their hearts so set on accomplishing their mission, they hadn't thought of how exactly to enter.

They needed a plan.

A plan that wouldn't fail.

They managed to stay in good health throughout their battles, each stopping in a friendly town and gaining some rest. They even met some old friends and some of the old friends of Mario as well. It seems that Mario had become more famous then his younger brother had first thought.

Luigi was pleased at the friends that Mario had made, and even gained their friendship for his own as well.

They helped the two as long as they would go and do as much as they could to aid them.

Mario was still recovering and as a request, Luigi had asked them to send his brother some get well presents. The green clad plumber thought that if they all sent Mario their gifts, that they would give his elder brother hope and joy. Also, they would show him a sign that they weren't giving up and wished him a speedy recovery.

They would show him that no one forgot about him!

They had hope!

Luigi wrote him letters every now and then, and when they got to a friendly town, he either asked the mail carrier to deliver it, or stuck in a nearby mailbox.

The two travelers searched far and wide after being ejected out of the castle a few times. They relied on every source they could to get back to the castle.

Mario continued to lay in bed, surprised by the fact that he seemed to be getting so many presents from old friends that it had been quite a while since he'd seen.

He once heard Toad make the remark of, "If the Pipe House gets any more gifts, we won't be able to fit in it!" or "If we get any more gifts, they'll be coming out of our ears!"

The red clad plumber made a mental not to himself that he would thank them all somehow for their support.

The mustache attired plumber looked out of his window, facing the setting sun, and wore a thoughtful expression.

_'I wonder how Luigi is doing.' _He thought to himself. _'I hope he's all right. I've been getting his letters daily, but now they've stopped their flow. Right now, I'm too sick to help him, so it's all up to him. I wonder how far he's gotten to Bowser's castle. Or if he saved Peach? I wish I could be there to help him, but unfortunately I can't. I have to rely on my intuition and hope for the best.'_

The plumber sat there in bed. What else **could **he do?

He continued to watch the sunset in silence.

That is…

Until Toad came in…

"Nice sunset huh?" The mushroom headed one said as he sat beside his friend on the bed.

"Yes'a it is."

"How are ya feelin'?"

"A bit better then usual. I'm not used to having a day off." Mario smiled a peaceful smile.

"You looked like you were thinking about something." Toad noted, the sunlight illuminating his features.

"Just wondering if Luigi is all right."

"I'm sure he is."

_'I'm sure he is…'_

**Yeah, this chapter was kind of bleh, but oh well. I needed to skip some time because I don't feel like making this a 100 chapter story going through every battle. All you need to know is that they are standard battles, just like in the game, so no worries, you aren't really missing much.**

**Anyway, thanks for the 100 reviews, I really appreciate it. Sorry for the lack of updates here, but there's one fic ignored more then this one, so be happy for that.**

**I've also put two of my fanfics on HIATUS until I can get more ideas. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! Also, if you have any ideas, feel free to state them. I need material here!**

**Read, enjoy and review!**


	13. The Castle

**Here is the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I've been at school and things of that nature and my well's been running dry as far as of lately for ideas. Thanks for the many reviews! I love them all!**

**Wow, it feels good to be back in the saddle for fanfiction. I've been updating this fanfic whenever I feel like. Sometimes for several weeks in a row, sometimes monthly, who knows?**

**Well, here is chapter 13, the unlucky number! Beware you who are superstitious. **

**Well, here it is!**

**Chapter 13: The Castle**

Luigi finally found his way through the castle and he and Yoshi advanced through the many levels easily. The Goombas and Koopas were easily defeated.

After a while, the two had a much needed rest. They refilled themselves using the vitalizing mushrooms and were soon back on their feet once more.

Yoshi was still being his ever so cowardly self, while Luigi was facing the danger head on.

_'I've got to do this. My brother and all of __Mushroom__Kingdom__ is counting on me!' _He thought. _'Besides, I should get credit too! I'm ever bit as capable of doing this job as Mario. I mean, Mario gets all of the credit sometimes for things that both of us have done. How many times have I been on missions to save the Princess with him? More then I can count! It's about time I proved myself to everyone!'_

Luigi was determined on this one. He'd be a hero to Mario for once. He'd give him something for him to be proud of!

They advanced more and more through the castle, taking on anything and everything that stood in their way, overcoming every obstacle, and even freeing some trapped innocents along the way.

They were grateful to both Luigi and Yoshi. One small child even called them his heroes. Yoshi and Luigi both beamed at that comment feeling very pleased with themselves.

"It feels good being called a hero, doesn't it?" He turned to Yoshi, who gave a smile.

"It sure is!" The dino nodded. "It's nice to know that people not only look up to Mario, they look up to us as well!"

_'Maybe, just maybe…..' _Luigi thought _'I could be considered Mario's hero, for just this once…'_

"It's nice to know we have some admirers." Luigi smiled and gestured over his shoulder with his thumb to the beaming face of the child.

Yoshi gave a smiling nod.

_'It's nice being a hero.'_

"Well, you people take care and find your way out safely, there aren't any traps anymore, so you should have a straight shot out. Yoshi and I will continue to save whoever else is trapped in there. Rest assured, you'll soon be reunited with your family and friends."

The small crowd cheered at Luigi's speech, finding comfort in his words.

Soon they departed, each saying their respected goodbyes and going in their own direction, hoping for the best.

As they got along further and further into the castle, they ran into tougher and tougher foes. Luigi and Yoshi at times, seemed as if they were struggling against all odds to get to Bowser and Peach.

But…

They never lost all hope.

Luigi even seemed inspirational to Yoshi at times.

_'Wow…Luigi has a lot of determination. He really wants to make his brother proud.' _The dino thought as he looked at Luigi, beaming with determination. _'He already has made me proud, and I'm sure he'll make Mario proud as well.'_

They freed a few more captives and defeated many more villains, lackeys and foes along the way, some of them were easy and it felt like smooth sailing, some battles they didn't see how they won, and some they barely hung on, with a surprise turn around victory at the end.

This was no normal day for our duo; then again it's never been easy going through Bowser's Castle, especially alone.

They would need extra courage to go against Bowser, and extra strength as well.

They certainly had the confidence, even Yoshi gained confidence from Luigi, who seemed to be outdoing himself.

They finally got the holding quarters of Peach and Jurachi. They fought the guards, which were easy to get through, the only problem: There were so many of them!

They seemed to swarm from everywhere, like molasses pouring from a jar.

In their cell, Peach and Jurachi sat hopelessly trapped; waiting for any sign of Mario or anyone at all that would help them get out of their predicament.

"I have faith in Mario. I know he'll come."

"I just hope he doesn't think badly of me." Jurachi replied. "It would be a shame to leave me here with the Koopas and Lord Bowser."

"Don't worry, Jurachi!" Peach replied. "You'll get out, and so will I!"

Outside of the cell, Luigi and Yoshi continued to fight off the guards.

_'I will win…I have to.'_

_'I will believe in myself, just like Luigi does!' _Yoshi thought as he raced through the guards. _'I will be brave and face whatever trouble I come to! I will be strong for Peach, Mario, Toad and Luigi, as well as all of the other people from __Mushroom__Kingdom__! They're counting on me!'_

As Peach and Jurachi sat in their cell, Luigi and Yoshi were racing near, unnoticed by the two prisoners.

With great speed and determination, they raced toward their desired goal: Bowser.

_'I believe in myself.'_

_'I believe they will come.'_

_'Nothing can stop us now!'_

_'Please come home safely.'_

_'We're counting on you, Luigi. Don't fail us.'_

_'With friendship we can go far!'_

_'I'll make my brother proud!'_

_'I hope he'll accept for who I am and not what I am.'_

Many thoughts ran rampant amongst everyone and the tension and action was high. This would be a battle and a force to be reckoned with; on both sides.

Luigi and Yoshi were proving to be an unstoppable duo!

_'Together we can overcome any obstacle!'_

_'Together, we'll save lives.'_

_'Together we'll beat Bowser and restore peace to __Mushroom__Kingdom__!'_

_'Together…we'll shine!'_

**TBC**

**Yeah, that's all I've got for now. In the next chapter, Luigi and Yoshi will run into Peach and Jurachi. What will happen? Will Yoshi and Luigi accept Jurachi, or be skeptical of him for what he is?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**Please R&R!**


	14. Rescue!

**A/N: Here I am with ANOTHER chapter. At this rate, the story should be done very soon. I'm steadily updating without the internet, so, I should have a major flood of updates. **

**I'm in here writing at ****7:00**** in the morning, so…yeah. Before I go to Vocational School. This fanfic will end in 17-20 chapters, so around those chapters, you can expect completion of this fanfic.**

**Anyway, thanks all who reviewed and I'M NOT DEAD!**

**Please R&R!**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 14: Rescue!**

Luigi and Yoshi ran through the mass amounts of guards, beating them with grace and speed.

Finally, the two had gotten to the captive holders in the hallway.

"Where are we?" Yoshi asked, coming to a stop.

"I don't know." Luigi responded.

Suddenly, there was some banging on one of the doors that lined the hall.

"Huh?" Two voices sounded in unison.

**Pound**

**Pound**

**Pound**

"Who's there?" Luigi asked.

"Luigi! I'm so glad you're here!" A feminine voice rang out.

"Peach!" Luigi called.

"Princess!" Yoshi rejoiced.

They came over to the door and tried to pull it open. Needless to say…

It wouldn't open.

"The door is locked!" Luigi replied, stating the obvious.

Peach looked in deep thought.

_'The key must've been on one of the guards that were knocked out in the hallway.'_

"Check the guards!" Peach shouted through the wood which was separating them.

Luigi and Yoshi looked around at all of the fallen guards and various enemies around them.

"Where do we start?" Yoshi asked.

"I have no idea." Luigi hopped off of Yoshi and started to look around. Yoshi began to dig through the piles of fallen villains that had once stood in their way once before.

After a while of searching through the various masses, Yoshi had finally grabbed something yellow, metal and hard.

It was the key.

"Hey!" The dinosaur proclaimed. "I found the key!"

He waved it over his head in a manner that Luigi could see clearly.

"Good job, Yoshi!" Luigi remarked as they went over and unlocked the door to reveal Peach and Jurachi.

"Hey! There's a Koopa in there." Yoshi gasped.

"Yeah." Peach replied. "It's my friend. His name is Jurachi. He wants to start his life over from the oppression of Bowser."

"Do you think we should trust him, though?" Yoshi asked, a bit suspicious.

"Of course we can!" Peach replied. "He's been in here talking about how he wanted to be free."

"There's no time, let's just get them out of here. We can figure out the details later." Luigi replied.

"All right." Yoshi agreed, allowing them to mount him.

"Where's Mario?" Peach asked.

"He's hurt badly, and recovering in Mushroom Kingdom." The green figure below replied.

"So you've been taking this whole mission on by yourself?" The blonde princess asked Luigi.

"Not by myself." The green-clad plumber replied. "Yoshi's been helping me."

"Really?"

"Yes, he's been really brave, haven't you, Yoshi?"

"Yep!" Yoshi stood proudly.

"Thanks for saving us." Jurachi replied.

"You're welcome." Yoshi and Luigi said in unison.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Peach replied.

"Uh-huh!" Jurachi agreed.

They all raced off on Yoshi, through the hall way.

As they were running, the load seemed to get considerable lighter. That's when Luigi turned and noticed that Peach wasn't aboard.

"Hey!" He asked, turning to look at the princess, who wasn't aboard anymore. "Where did she go?"

**"Oh no!"** Yoshi worried,** "The princess is gone!"**

"This is most terrible!" Jurachi exclaimed. "We **must **look for her."

"We'd better re-trace our steps." Luigi replied. "We can't let Bowser find her!"

"Right!" They all agreed.

They all looked for the princess high and low, and retraced their footsteps many times, but still no sign of the princess. All three of them split up and looked, but still the princess was gone. All of them wouldn't give up, however, and kept looking.

Soon, they all met up, all with no princess beside of them.

"Well, I'm assuming no one found her." Jurachi replied at last.

"No," Luigi sighed.

They continued to look throughout the castle, each eager to find the princess. After all, they just gained her only to loose her yet again, and who knows where Bowser could be at any given moment in time. He always seemed to show up when they dreaded it most.

**"HELP!" **

**"HELP ME! PLEASE!"**

All heads seemed to snap in the direction of the scream.

"It's Peach!" Luigi called out the obvious.

"Oh no! " Yoshi whined, "What do we do!?"

"We've got to find her!"

"My poor princess." Jurachi's face turned into one of sadness.

"Don't worry, we'll find her." Luigi replied.

"Right! We can't give up hope now!" Yoshi affirmatived. "We've made it so far!"

**"Let's go and find her!"**

**"ALL RIGHT!"**

They crossed many obstacles and took on many villains together, each not giving up and fighting with even more determination then they last had.

Jurachi befriended Luigi and Yoshi and was a very formidable ally for being just a normal Koopa.

They all fought for their princesses' freedom.

They fought to save her.

Jurachi remained strong and confident in his duties to protect the princess, just as he had made her the promise that he would in their shared cell.

Yoshi remained semi-confident in himself, but even more confident in Luigi. He had become quite strong over their adventures, and he was even sure that he could beat Bowser, just as Mario had all the years before.

Luigi was confident as well, he wanted to make his brother proud.

With all of this confidence, it sure was getting them far.

They had earned experience and new abilities during the many battles that they had endured. They all knew that Bowser lie ahead as their final obstacle, and probably captor of the princess as well.

They were ready to face anything that came their way.

**TBC**

**Well, that's all for chapter 14. There are three more chapters left in this little fic of mine. I'm glad you all enjoyed it and I appreciate all of your reviews in making this fanfic well over 100 reviews! **

**Thanks guys, you're the best!**


	15. The Final Foe

**Hello once again! This is chapter 15 of my little Mario fanfic. I've been slacking off on my anime fanfics to finish this and a Sailor Moon fanfic I've been working on for a long time. **

**Man, everything's been going slower as of lately. Hardly any new reviews and such.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 15!**

**Vv**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 15: The Final Foe**

**Vv**

"We've got to find the Princess!" Yoshi and Luigi raced through the treacheries of the castle.

After much running through obstacles, the two finally came to an old wooden bride, suspended in the air with the ropes that held it together. Beneath the bridge, there was a pool of smoldering magma, with several islands scattered around by the magma.

"I guess we ran into a dead end." Luigi replied, looking around the room.

"Apparently, here's no door at the end of this bridge." Yoshi agreed.

"We might as well turn around." The green clad plumber finally.

"**Luigi!**** Help!"** Could be heard from a distance.

Both Luigi and Yoshi turned around to see the princess being held by Bowser on the other side of the bridge.

"**Princess**!" Three figures at the other side of the bridge yelled in unison.

"So long!" Bowser told the three as he slashed the rope that held the bridge in the air with his mighty claws.

"**AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh**!" The three yelled as the fell towards the lava below.

"**WE'RE GONNA D"IE! "WE'RE GONNA DIE! UAHHHHH!"** Yoshi yelled as they fell.

_'Think Luigi…Think.' _The green clad plumber thought as they fell towards the ground.

He spied a rock below. "I know, we can jump off of that rock." The green clad man motioned to the rock below.

Yoshi stopped bawling and sniffed. "Huh? **HOORAY**! We're not going to die!"

"But I might!" Jurachi screamed as he fell, headed straight for the molten substance below.

"Hold on, we'll get you!" Luigi yelled as they bounced off of the rock, heading back up towards Bowser. Yoshi stuck his tongue out and grabbed Jurachi, pulling him into his mouth.

The Koopa saw where he was headed and let out a yell, which was soon muffled inside of the dinosaur's mouth.

"Good thinking Yoshi!" Luigi complimented.

He got a mumble in reply.

"What the?" Bowser remarked as they came hurling towards him.

"Take this!" The royal Koopa let out a burst of fire was hurled at them as they were coming up. The aim barely missed them as they jumped off of Bowser's head and grabbed the blonde, who was all too thankful.

Luigi held the girl in his arms. He had saved the princess; now all he had to do was defeat Bowser.

They landed on the ground a few feet away from the monstrous Koopa. The king turned around with fire in his eyes, angry that his plans had backfired.

The princess hugged Luigi. "Thank you so much! I'm in debt to you!"

"It was nothing." Luigi remarked.

"When I get done with you, you're going to be nothing!" Bowser yelled, charging at them.

The blonde and Luigi gasped. Then Yoshi spit out Jurachi to yell, sending Jurachi's shell hurling towards Bowser at an unbelievable pace. The shell hit the monstrous form in the stomach and sent him hurtling back.

He stumbled a bit backwards, until he found that he had nothing left to stand on, which sent him falling downwards, landing in the lava.

"Curse you!"

The small Koopa landed on the edge. He popped out of his shell and rubbed his head.

"Ugh…My head…What happened?" He asked in a groggy tone.

"Jurachi!" The princess called.

"My princess! You're all right!" The Koopa called and jumped into the girl's arms, hugging her.

"Nice to see you too, Jurachi!" The flinched at the dinosaur drool covered Koopa.

"Now that Bowser's defeated, we've got to get out of here." Princess replied.

"Right, let's go!" Luigi told Yoshi, who raced out of the room.

On and on they ran, back through the many defeated obstacles. After they had gotten so far, they noticed the ground shaking.

"What's that?" Jurachi asked.

"Earthquake!" Yoshi yelled.

Pieces of the building began to fall all around them.

"This place is caving in!" Luigi yelled.

Princess screamed.

"We've got to get out of here!" The green dinosaur replied.

"Run faster Yoshi! Or we're all going to be buried under this rubble!" The Koopa yelled.

Yoshi began to pick up the pace then they ran out of the castle, dodging the falling debris. Chunks of ceiling began to fall.

Yoshi began to dodge the pieces of ceiling, bigger and bigger pieces.

_'We've got to hurry up and get out of here! This building is coming down fast! If we don't get out of here, we're going to be buried! _

_But…We've got to get out, for Mario's sake! He's counting on us to get the princess back to him! It's up to me!'_

"Let's go this way!" Luigi pointed. "This is the way we went down when we came here!"

"That's right! I recognize it now!" Yoshi replied.

They turned down the path and advanced onward to their destination, more and more of the ceiling beginning to fall in on them.

They ran onward, to their destination.

**TBC**

**A/N: Will they get out? Read the next chapter to find out.**

**Sorry about the long wait, ideas were running short on this fanfic; I promise the next two chapters will be longer. Anyway, glad to see that people are enjoying this!**

**Two more chapters to go! This fanfic is coming to a nice end, don't you think I'll try and update sooner, so please keep a watch on me!**


	16. Expect The Unexpected

**A/N: Bowser isn't gone yet. That's why I made it seem that he was easily defeated, to either make you think that I wrote it poorly or, to make you wonder. **

**Anyway, just had to note that, I'm glad someone thought that something was up.**

**This is the next to last chapter!**

**I I I**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 16: Expect the Unexpected**

**I I I**

As they were dodging the debris. They ran down a hallway, suddenly, the hallway caved in front of them, making it cave in. They all covered themselves and yelled in surprise.

Through the falling rubble and debris, there was a large figure.

As the smoke and debris cleared, the figure became more and more apparent. Their worst fears had become apparent. It was Bowser.

"Did you think I could be defeated that easily?" The gargantuan Koopa told them.

"Oh no!" What do we do now!" Yoshi asked in a panicked voice.

"Ok, try not to panic." Luigi instructed as Jurachi clung to his head.

"Too late for that." The green one below him replied.

"Now you're mine!" Bowser told them, with his claws outstretched.

He tried to grab them but Yoshi ran under Bowser, between his legs and ran away from him.

"What are you doing?" Jurachi asked.

"Getting out of here." Yoshi replied.

"He's right." Luigi replied. "This place is caving in. We'll have to forget about Bowser for now. If we stay back there and fight him, then we'll all be buried alive under this rubbish."

"You can't get away from me! Come back here!" Bowser called as he ran after the bunch who headed for the nearest exit.

The Koopa looked behind him. "He's going to catch up to him if we don't do something. There's no way we can outrun something that big."

"He's gaining on us!"

Ahead, there was a small, black figure walking across the path.

It was a Bob-omb.

Luigi spied it walking and hatched an idea. The green clad plumber jumped off of Yoshi's back and picked up the Bob-omb. He then looked over to Yoshi.

"You get the Princess and Jurachi out of here." He replied.

"But Luigi." Yoshi protested.

"I'll do what I have to do; you just get them out of here."

"All right." Yoshi replied. "Be careful."

"Right."

The blonde girl looked back at Bowser's Castle, in which they were leaving.

_'Oh, I hope Luigi will be al right. He's come this far. I shouldn't doubt him._

_But…_

_I'm still worried.'_

Faster and faster Yoshi ran, until they were a certain distance from the castle. All of a sudden, there was an explosion, and the whole castle diminished into a pile of rubble.

The small group stood on the near by hill, watching in horror and grief.

"He's not coming out." Yoshi said shakily.

"Luigi." The Princess feared that he would be gone.

"It doesn't look like anyone could survive such annihilation."

The blonde wore a look of sadness on her face. "Oh no…He sacrificed himself for us."

The Koopa just hung his head.

"It can't be true. " Yoshi said. "He said we'd shine together!"

"Guess we'd better head back to Mushroom Kingdom and tell Mario." The pink clad woman said dejectedly.

**IX.**

The trip back to Mushroom Kingdom was a silent and sorrowful one. Each person paid their moment of silence to the green clad plumber who had risked his life to save them.

_'Guess we don't get to shine together…And we tried so hard…' _Yoshi thought to himself.

"What are we going to tell Mario?" The Princess asked.

"I don't know…" The Koopa left off, "I suppose we'll tell him the truth, no matter how he'll take it."

"He risked his life to save us. I shouldn't have run away. I should've stayed behind and helped." The green one said.

"There was nothing we could do, Yoshi." Jurachi set a hand on the dinosaur's head.

"I just feel so guilty…"

"We all do." Peach replied. "But would Luigi want us to be this sad?"

"I suppose not."

"Come on, we'd better go and tell Mario." Jurachi sighed as they continued to make their way back towards Mushroom Kingdom.

As they walked, they all found themselves reminiscing the days of old, when Luigi was alive and well, and all of their adventures that took place. They also thought of Mario and what he would think of the news.

Peach couldn't help but look down in the dumps, despite her earlier comment, because truth to be told, Luigi held a special place in her heart, and the Mario Brothers wouldn't be the Mario Brothers with only one brother.

She sighed to herself as they made the slow journey back.

This was indeed going to be a sad day for Mushroom Kingdom and everyone in it.

She had also wondered if Bowser was still alive or gone for good. If he lived, then Luigi's efforts would be all in vein.

She sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

**IX**

At Mario's house, the explosion from Vista Hill shook him and caused him to stir awake.

"Momma Miya! Toad what was that?"

"I-I don't know." Toad ran quickly into the room. "It sounded like an explosion."

"Explosion?" The red clad one questioned.

_'I hope everything's going all right with Luigi.' _He thought.

"Do you hear something?" Toad asked.

"What do you mean?" Mario asked his little mushroom headed friend.

Before anyone could speak anymore, there was a huge crashing as something came through the roof and landed on Mario.

"**MARIO**!" Toad yelled as the massive amounts of debris covered the plumber.

"**MARIO**! **MARIO**!" Toad yelled. "Are you all right?"

There was no response for a while and Toad feared the worst.

_'I hope he's all right! He's got to be all right! Please let him be all right!' _His thoughts ran rampant at the thought of loosing his friend.

_'All right Toad, calm down. Even if Mario was weak, he could still sustain that roof collapsing, besides, he's been through worse…A whole lot worse and he's come through all of the time. He'll be ok…I hope…_

_I wonder what fell on him…'_

The small one peered over to the stack of rubble, watching and waiting to see if anything emerged from it.

Suddenly, a dark figure rose up from the rubble, causing Toad to hide behind a nearby dresser.

"Who-Who are you?" He asked in a shaky voice.

**TBC**

**A/N: Who is it? Guess! Please R&R! I have one more chapter to go! Thanks for reviewing and be sure to catch the sequel to this fanfic. It'll be about Jurachi's attempts to fit in with the people of ****Mushroom****Kingdom**

**Review and make me happy!**


	17. Celebrating The End

**A/N: This is the last chapter, just a basic summing things up and party-ish chapter! I hope you all find it to your liking! Don't forget to check out my sequel!**

**Anyway, please R&R!**

**I I I**

**It's Up To Me!**

**Chapter 17: Celebrating The End**

**I I I**

The dark figure coughed and dusted himself off

"Hiya Toad." They spoke.

"It's you!" Toad's face lit up in surprise.

"Where's Mario?" The figure asked.

"Um…Underneath you…" The mushroom headed one said.

**IX**

The trio trudged up to Mario's Pipe House, and then they all came to an abrupt stop.

"What's with the hole in the roof?" Jurachi asked.

"I don't know." The green dino gawked at the hole.

"Something's definitely wrong here." Peach stated with a serious look plastered to her face. "We've got to get in there."

"Right." Yoshi and the Koopa said in unison.

They all broke the door down, by ramming into it by force.

Inside, Toad and Mario could hear it, Toad decided to answer the door. Right as he opened the door, they came running in and collided through a mass of Mario's stuff, landing in a disheveled heap on the ground.

Toad and Mario sweatdropped.

"Uh…Nice to see you guys again." The short one said, looking unamused.

"Guuhhh…" Yoshi made a pained groan.

Jurachi just laid there with swirls for eyes.

Peach pulled herself off the top of the pile.

Mario walked over and extended an arm, in which Peach used to pull herself up with.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing about you." The blonde replied, and then looked at the heap of debris that used to be his bed. "What happened?"

"I just had a guest drop in, that's all." Mario smiled. "I'm glad to see that you all made it."

Yoshi looked down. "Not all of us."

"What do you mean?" The elder brother seemed to look confused.

"Well, you see….Luigi – " Yoshi said as Luigi walked in from another room holding green mushrooms.

"Are these it?"

The trio's eyes widened and they just stared and blinked. There was an eerie silence, then they all fell over.

"Are here we thought he was dead." Jurachi replied.

"Maybe we've had too much adventuring. I'm beginning to see ghosts." Yoshi sighed.

Peach was the first to get up. "Luigi!" She cried and ran over. She flung herself on him in a tightly woven hug and gave him a kiss of joy.

"I'm so glad your all right!" The blonde pulled back. "How did you escape?"

"There was a jump button in one of the rooms that Yoshi and I walked through, so I found my way there and jumped out of there. I barely made it. It was a close call." He blushed. "I'm glad to see that you all made it."

"Ahh!" Toad suddenly screamed, breaking up the heartwarming moment to jump behind Yoshi, who was already looking paranoid at what he screamed about.

"Mario! Do something!" He yelled and pointed to Jurachi. "One of Bowser's Koopas made it into Mushroom Kingdom!"

"That's not one of Bowser's Koopas. He's my friend Jurachi!" Peach smiled. "Don't be afraid. He won't hurt you. He retaliated against Bowser and helped me escape. I owe it to him as his new Princess."

"Wow, it seems that you all have had one grand adventure." Mario smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jurachi!"

"So, you're the legendary Mario!" The Koopa smiled. "I'm glad to have met you as well. It's an honor to say I know both of the Mario brothers."

Luigi smiled. "So, what's in order for us now?"

"A big party in your honor Luigi! We couldn't have done it without you!" Peach replied.

"You don't have t-"

"But we insist! " Toad replied. "I'll inform the Chancellor of your brave deeds!"

**IX**

Later that day, there was a big party in honor of Luigi. There were floats and a huge parade in his honor. Though Luigi was happy riding the floats, he couldn't feel better knowing that he had proved that he could take on anything that Mario could.

He had made his brother proud of him, and Mario didn't waste a second to tell him.

The green clad plumber was glad to know that things could be left up to him as well.

Near the end of the parade, the town held Luigi above them and threw him up into the air repetitively, chanting "Hip Hip Hooray!"

Luigi laughed happily and felt good knowing that it was all up to him.

**THE END**

**A/N: Now very long at all, I know. But it's the end of the story, what more do you want? Don't forget to check out Outcast. The sequel to this fanfic and my other stories as well! **

**See you in fanfiction!**


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